William hewitt



W. HEWITT. Method of Slitting Old Bails.

Patented Feb. 24,1880.'

2 fizz M2411,

N.PE1ERS PHOTO-LITMOGRAPIjER, WASHINGTON D c "UNITED STATES PATENT Orrics.

WILLIAM HEWITT, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, AssienoR TO THE TRENTON IRON COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

METHOD OF SLITTING OLD RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 224,827, dated February 24 1880.

Application filed November 17, 1879.

To all whom it may concern r Be it known that I, WILLIAM H WITT, of

Trenton, New Jersey, have invented a new anduseful Method of Lougitudinally Slitting Old Rails, and rolls by which said method may be carried out, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a method of slitting old rails without producing any fin or burr at the point or points where the rail is severed.

. Heretofore it has been usual to slit rails by means of rolls having V-shaped or knife-edged collars, the objection to which method has been that the cutting-edges of such collars wear very rapidly and soon become dull or,

rounded, with the result that when a rail is slit in such manner a thin film or fin is left along the severed edges of the slitted rail, as the roll is not sharp enough to cut the rail cleanly. V Another method of slitting rails has been to employ a roll having collars with fiat faces, in connection with a second roll having re- 2 5 cesses or grooves opposite to the projecting collars upon the first-named roll, whereby, at one pass, the rail has been severed longitudinally by rollingor punching the stem bodily out of the rail. By this method, however, fins or burrs are also formed upon the edges of the severed rail upon the side toward which the stem is punched out.

The objection to the above-mentioned or other methods in which fins are produced is that the slitted rails must subsequently be reheated to a welding-heat, and then passed through rolls to weldthe fins solidly with the body of the metal.

It is obvious that these methods are not applicable to steel rails, as steel cannot be heated to a welding-point without destroying the character of the same, and, further, for the reason that steel does not perfectly weld upon itself.

It is necessary, therefore, in the abovementioned or kindred methods of severing steel rails, to first allow the parts of-the severed rail to cool, then chip off the fins, and then reheat the parts before they can be rolled into bars or rods--a method both laborious and expensive.

My improvement consists in severing rails by rolling longitudinal grooves of a depth less than the thickness of the stern and greater than half the thickness of said ste n along one side of the stem of the rail, one or more being rolled, accordin g to the number of parts into which the rail is to be divided, by means of punching-collars upon the roll, and then by subjecting them to a second pass through the rolls, in which second pass a collar or collars similar to the collar or collars which in the first-named pass formed the groove or grooves punches out the portion of the stem opposite the groove formed in the first pass, said collars in the second pass operating upon the other side of the stem of the rail from that in which the groove was formed in the first pass.

My invention also consists in the rolls by which the above method is carried out.

In the drawings Figure 1 isa front elevation of my rolls, the punching-faces of the collar of which areflat. Figs. 2 and 3 are frontelevations of otherforms of punching-collars which may be employed upon' said rolls. Fig.4is a perspec- '75 tive view of a rail, showing the groove formed in the stem in pass 1 of the rolls; and Fig. 5, a perspective view of a rail, showing the manner in which the severing of the same is completed in pass 2 of the rolls.

In the drawings similar letters denote like parts.

Referring to the drawings, the following is a description of a form of rolls which conveniently efiectuates my method of slitting rails: 85

The rolls represented are three high, and, as illustrated, are provided with six grooves or passes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Passlis formed upon the uppermost roll in the following manncr: A represents a flat-faced collar of such 0 form as to register with the upper'side of the stem of the rail. The sides of this collar are beveled, as at A and A he face A is so formed as to register against and bend the flange of the rail. The faceA registers against 5 the under surface of the head of the rail. A is a groove the top of which registers against the edge of the flange of the rail. The side A of this groove registers against the bottom of the flange. A is a groove the top of which registers against the side of the head of the rail, while the side A of said groove registers against the top of the head of the rail.

B B B B and B upon the middle roll are similar to the parts A A A A and A upon the upper roll.

The collar B upon the middle roll is similar to the collar A upon the upper roll, with the exception that said collar B is provided with an auxiliary punching-collar, 0, having a flat face and being of a height greater than onehalf the thickness of the web of the rail.

The lowermost roll is of the same form as the uppermost, and pass 2 is of the same form as pass 1 inverted.

Passes 3, 4, 5, and 6 are shown simply as forms adapted to sever a rail of the old English pattern, and possess the same mode of operation as passes l and 2.

In operation, when a rail is passed through pass 1 a narrow groove, D, Fig. 4, is rolled in one side of the stem of the rail by means of the punching-collar 7) upon the middle roll, Fig. 1. The rail is then returned through pass 2, whereupon the punching-collar 1) upon the middle roll is made to operate upon the part E, Fig. 4, of the stem of the rail opposite to groove D, whereby a strip, F, Fig. 5, is bodily punched from the stem of the rail, and the rail thus divided into two parts, without the formation of a fin or burr upon the parts.

Ido not confine myself to the use of a punching-collar having a Hat face, as is shown at b, Fig. 1, as collars with a sligh tly-concave or angularly-concave face, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, would effect the same result. I prefer, however, to use a punching-collar with a flat face.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The method of slitting rails which consists in rolling a groove in one side of the rail, and then rolling a groove in the other side of the rail, and opposite and extending into the first-named groove, whereby a portion of metal of the rail is punched out from between the divided parts of the rail, as described.

. 2. Three high rolls of which the middle one is provided with a narrow straight collar, 1), of a depth greater than one-half the thickness of the web of the rail to be split, and of which the others have collars opposite the said collar 1), to co-operate with said collarin dividing the rail into two parts, in the manner set forth.

In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto signed 7 my name this 11th day of November, A. D. 1879.

J. BONSALL TAYLOR, W. O. STRAWBRIDGE. 

